A Day at the Beach

Well, really, it was a week at the beach, but A Day at the Beach was one of my favorite books when I was little, so I took some liberties.

That's right, Tyler and I packed up Kate and Elle and headed to Destin to spend the week there with Mimi and Grandbob.  We had a great time!

I must say, vacations with kids are MUCH different than they used to be.  I don't know why I didn't realize this before we left, but they are a bit more work with 2 little ones in tow!  We had some great help from the great Mimi & Grandbob though - hopefully we didn't wear them out!

The girls traveled well, for the most part.  Meltdowns commenced approximately 45 minutes from our destination each way, though it was much worse on the way.  But hey, what can you expect from two 8 1/2 month olds on a 6 hour car ride??  They were troopers!

As you will see below, they looked super cute in their bathing suits.  Thank you, Old Navy, for making the cutest tutu swimsuits ever.  They both loved the pool and their pool floats.  Sweet Kate fell asleep on her Daddy one day in the pool.  Snoring and everything.  So cute.  And Elle got dunked by her daddy.  She wasn't sure how she felt about going under water, but under she went and she made it!  Elle seems to be our beach baby - she sat and played in a little tide pool and had fun in the ocean while Tyler held her.  Kate, on the other hand, was not so much a fan.  I think she was a smidge scared of the waves and did not like the way the sand felt and so she clung to me for dear life.  It's okay, Kate - I prefer the pool too!  And I'm sure when they get older, we won't be able to keep the out of the ocean.

The girlies were rock stars wherever they went - garnering much attention and ooh-ing and ahh-ing.  And they went all over the place!  To the outlet malls, to dinner, to lunch...and they did great most everywhere we went!  There was a small incident at Harry T's, but we overcame it and even took them out to eat again.  If you'd seen me that day, during lunch, you would be immensely proud that I ventured back out with them.  :)  It required a MaiTai afterwards.  Which, by the way, should not be made with bourbon.  Gross.  I think the bartender was acting like he knew what was in it.  FAIL.

The girls were also able to see Aunt Manny and cousin Kendall while we were there.  They got lots of hugs from Kendall!  Cutest thing ever - Kendall LOVES giving hugs.  And Aunt Betty came by for a visit too and brought some delicious wings for lunch (thanks again, Betty!). 

And Tyler and I were able to go on a date while we were there, thanks to the babysitting prowess of Mimi & Grandbob.  I love The Back Porch.  It was so nice to have drinks on the beach and a nice leisurely dinner together.  Grilled Mahi Mahi - yummmm.

All in all, we had a great time on our first beach trip with the girlies!

Possibly my favorite picture from the trip.  Tyler drinking from his giant fishbowl while feeding Kate Cheerios.  Classic.

Elle at Harry T's.  This was pre-incident.  Incidentally (ha), the girls are both big fans of sitting in highchairs at restaurants.  At home?  Not so much.

Big hugs from Kendall.  I think Elle is trying to lick her ear.  Is ear licking is a pre-cursor to hugging?  No?  Nevermind then

Ole Blue Eyes.

Kate likes to call this next series of pictures, "Why me?"

You might not be able to tell, but Kate is pretty much having a meltdown here.

Helpppppppp

Meeeeeeee

When asked to comment, Elle said "I love the beach!"

Mimi and Elle!

Grandbob & Kate.

And the closest thing to a family picture we were able to get!

Guess who...

dressed Kate in pink and brown polka dots with orange Halloween socks?

I'll give you a hint.  His name rhymes with Shmyler. 

Cracks me up.

Ham & Cheese

It appears Elle has discovered the concept of smiling for the camera.  I think we have a ham on our hands.  Definitely a girl who knows how to say "cheese"!

With Kate, it's usually this:

But sometimes, if she's feeling saucy, it's this:

Happy Birthday to ME!

If you know me, you know I love my birthday.  LOVE.  IT.  However, being a mom has made it a bit different.  I wasn't quite as all about me this year.  Usually I start reminding Tyler about a week in advance with comments such as "Guess what's in 7 days??" or "Guess what's in 6 days and 23 hours?"  You could construe this as annoying.  And you would be absolutely correct.  It provides days and days of fun for me though.   This year, I didn't even think to provide my normal running commentary.  And Tyler is probably thanking the sweet Lord.  However, it was probably one of the best birthdays I've ever had.

It involved a massage.  And margaritas.  And friends.  And a movie.  And crying.  But the good kind of crying.

Tyler The girls surprised me on Friday morning with a card saying they had begged Daddy to stay home for my birthday and he just couldn't say no to them.  Cue crying mommy.  Also cue slightly uncomfortable Daddy who wasn't expecting such a reaction.  I really was so surprised and excited that we were all going to get to spend the day together.  After I recovered from my blubbering, we had a lovely day.  We didn't do anything out of the ordinary - just spent time together and it was great! 

And now I'd like to give a special shout out to my sisters-in-law, who are super extra awesome and gave me a massage for my birthday last year.  Here comes the part where I tell them that I just redeemed said massage for my 31st birthday, instead of my 30th.  *Insert sheepish grin here*.  But let me tell you all, it was wonderful.  Fabulous.  Out of this world relaxing.  Thank you SO much.  I think I died and went to heaven several times.

And then Bone Garden for dinner with my homies Brenda, Jo and sweet Charlotte.  I love that place.  It is ever so delicious.  Thanks, guys, for celebrating with us!  And thank you, Jo, for introducing Tyler to his new best friend, the iPad.  I think he wants to keep it and love it and call it George.  Or something like that. 

And then I got to go see a movie on Sunday with aforementioned friend, Brenda.  If you know me, you also know I love to go see movies.  Something that happens quite infrequently these days!  We went to see Date Night.  I think I snorted a few times during it.  Also, please ask Brenda how excited I was to go to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch beforehand.  It was a little sad.  BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad with avocado?  Yes, please.

All this to say, a great first birthday as a mom!  Time spent with my girls, my guy, my friends.  This birthday gets 2 big fat thumbs up.

Easter!

The girls had a great first Easter.  No egg hunting or anything this year, as they are not so much "mobile" yet.  However, Kate is doing a lot of pushing up on her hands and knees, so who  knows how long it will be??  Lord, help me.  :)


They made it longer through the church service than they have to date.  Woo hoo!  One Sunday, we'll put them in the nursery, but we thought Easter sunday might not be the greatest for their first time there.  What with the 800 kids that likely were there.  


And they looked precious in their dresses from their GGM (Great Grandmother).  Below are some pics of them.  Getting these girls to look at the camera and smile at the same time has not proven to be an easy task so far.  Looking at the same time?  Check.  Smiling at the same time?  Not so much a check.  Oh well, I think they're fabulous anyway!

Oh my...

this girl is gonna be trouble.  I can see it in her eyes.

Kate's Boyfriend

That's right.  Kate has a boyfriend.  His name is Jacob.  And he lives in Franklin.  They're in a long distance relationship.  It's tough.

Tyler had a conference in Nashville a few weeks ago, so we all made the trip and stayed with Mimi and Grandbob.  While we were there, we went to visit my BFF, Kristin and her little boy, Jacob.  Kate stared.  Kate made eyes.  She was shameless, really.  It's a good thing, since we're planning on betrothing both of them anyway.  That way, we can have a double wedding and not have to worry about Tyler's "One of them can get married and one of them can go to college" rule.  The money we save on two separate weddings can go to the college tuition.  Done and done.

Betrothal:  Sending young women to college one twin at a time.

I think I'm on to something.

Seriously though, Kate really was staring and Jacob is definitely a cutie.  He is, however, a mover and a shaker, so we couldn't get a picture of all of them together.  At least I couldn't.  Kristin may have a better one.  But I think this series of pictures illustrates things nicely.

Meet Jacob.  Quite dapper in his overalls, don't you think?  He was not all about me taking his picture though.

Hey, Kate!  What are you looking at?  I'm trying to take your picture!

 Uh, Mom.  There's totally a cute boy over there.  You're embarrassing me. 

 I mean, look, he can WALK.  *Sigh*  He's dreamy.


Good thing we have another fella lined up for Elle.  His name is Isaac.  But I'm not ready to talk about that yet.  I still have to process this.